Hot weather starting

[d3vi@nt]

I have an '07 M695 that I frequently ride to work. Lately it's been in the low 90's during the day and the bike sits out in the sun. After work, when I go to start it, it turns over, but never catches unless I hit the throttle (which the manual says not to do). Once it catches, it runs very rough until I hit the cold start lever.  So even though it's 90+ degrees outside I have to use the cold start lever, which seems counter intuitive.

The local dealer indicated that this was due to the gas vapors (caused by the heat) left in the charcoal filter that need to be cleared before it can start running normal. Sounds reasonable, but should I really be using the cold start lever when it's 90+ F outside?

[Howie]

I have an '07 M695 that I frequently ride to work. Lately it's been in the low 90's during the day and the bike sits out in the sun. After work, when I go to start it, it turns over, but never catches unless I hit the throttle (which the manual says not to do). Once it catches, it runs very rough until I hit the cold start lever.  So even though it's 90+ degrees outside I have to use the cold start lever, which seems counter intuitive.

The local dealer indicated that this was due to the gas vapors (caused by the heat) left in the charcoal filter that need to be cleared before it can start running normal. Sounds reasonable, but should I really be using the cold start lever when it's 90+ F outside?

If the bike runs fine otherwise, hot idle speed is to spec and a little fast idle solves the problem, IMO, no need to worry.  Could the EVAP canister be a problem?  Yes, particularly if you are in the habit of overfilling the tank.  Want to eliminate the canister as a source of the problem?  Disconnect the hoses from the nipples on your intake manifolds and either cap them (5/16'') or run hose from one to the other so you don't have a vacuum leak.  Bike starts better?  Dump the canister.

[bikepilot]

I always use the fast-idle lever on the wife's 620 and my TLS regardless of outside temp if the motor is cold.  These bikes don't have IAC valves/motors like most FI cages and will idle too low when the motor is cold -and yes, 90 F is cold for a motor  

[d3vi@nt]

Cool. Thanks for the feedback. Being new to Duc's, I'm rarely certain what's considered "normal".

The bike runs fine otherwise and I don't overfill the tank, but I like the idea of disconnecting the canister for a test. I'll give that a shot and see what happens.

Thanks again.